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Kgalagadi Summer: Self-Drive and Self-Catering (!) in South Africa, January 2015


Tdgraves

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Here are some photos which got uploaded, but I forgot to put into the correct sections :wacko:

 

Day 1

 

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Day 2

 

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Day 2 Evening Drive from Twee Rivieren towards Mata Mata

 

I didn’t have much of a siesta, with the rain pounding on the roof. So I amused myself birdwatching from the stoep.

 

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Not sure who was watching whom though.....

 

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Who says you need a hide for birdwatching? Two new species just sat at the patio table!! African red-eyed bulbul and a white-backed mousebird (not sure what it had "caught" - looks like a stone?!!!)

 

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As it had rained so much, we thought we’d go up the Auob road, as the road we had used in the morning on the Nossob side was very sandy.

 

You can see from the first photos it was still very dark. We got quite close to this pygmy falcon, another Kalahari special and yet another first for us

 

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Northern black koraan female (another new one on us)

 

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Crimson breasted shrike (with kill!!), another Kgalgadi special

 

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Then the sun finally decided to come out

 

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We had turned around to make our way back to camp, when I spotted something black moving on the left hand side of the road - a honey badger. In the day time!!

 

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What a day! I can see why people rave about this place.....

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@Tdgraves: were there any Pale Chanting Goshawks around honey badger? We were told they usually follows the guy on the ground ... To catch the shrike was so difficult ... but to catch the one with the catch !!

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@Tdgraves: were there any Pale Chanting Goshawks around honey badger? We were told they usually follows the guy on the ground ... To catch the shrike was so difficult ... but to catch the one with the catch !!

Not that I noticed @@xelas, but to be fair I was watching him, not the surrounding area!

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Safaridude

@@Tdgraves

 

This TR hits the spot at the right time, as I am planning a return trip to KTP as we speak! I think I am addicted to KTP.

 

Great cheetah sequence.

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Tom Kellie

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~ @Tdgraves:

 

You're driving me crazy! Such lovely images are distracting me from my work (for which I'm grateful).

What you observed and how you photographed it are of high interest to me.

In all candor, your safari photography style especially appeals to me as it tends to be what I'd like to eventually achieve.

Many, many thanks for sharing these visual treasures with us.

Tom K.

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@@Tdgraves

 

This TR hits the spot at the right time, as I am planning a return trip to KTP as we speak! I think I am addicted to KTP.

 

Great cheetah sequence.

 

Me too! I think (I suspect it is highly contagious - we don't want an epidemic, otherwise we'll never get in again!!). Am already thinking about ditching the usual "luxury" September safari for a KTP trip next year.....

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we will be returning to KTP in July for the 7th time, I believe - great place, though they really need more roads

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we will be returning to KTP in July for the 7th time, I believe - great place, though they really need more roads

As I thought, highly contagious!! Now that I have been once, the decision about which camps to stay at will be based on the drives available

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Great job with the springbok and cheetah sequence, low light or not.

Though I'm really blown away by the honey badger!

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michael-ibk

Love the Pgymy Falcon, but especially the Honey Badger! More pics of the little guy? Please? :)

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Love the Pgymy Falcon, but especially the Honey Badger! More pics of the little guy? Please? :)

By little guy do you mean the Bird?

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What a great set of sightings - I can see why you like it there! I love the Honey Badger

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Day 3: Morning drive Twee Rivieren up the Auob valley

 

We were changing camps, so elected to do a short drive towards before breakfast and check out at 10am. Then we would drive the slightly longer route to Kieliekrankie up the Nossob, to use up time and see some different scenery. The weather had changed, so we were looking forward to some blue sky/red dunes

 

Springbok was the first sighting of the day, just as the sun broke through the mist

 

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And then it seemed to become a birding drive - a sociable weaver

 

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Pale chanting goshawk

 

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Some scaly feathered finches (new for us)

 

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Fork-tailed drongo

 

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Spotted thick-knee (another new one on us)

 

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A better lanner falcon sighting than the previous day

 

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We also saw a red-necked falcon, but it was too quick for a photo (and it was another new species for us...)

 

Crowned lapwing

 

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Ostrich

 

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African pipit

 

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Back to camp for a quick fry-up and pack to leave

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Atravelynn

I was awed by those pronking springbok, and then by the running cheetah. Then, the cheetah and springbok are in the same shot. Great work with not time or room for second guessing. The cheetah family reunion was such a joy as well. Had they got the springbok, it would have been more joyful for them.

 

Wonderful bird shots throughout. They honey badger had obviously been digging. Such luck to see him in the daylight.

 

"What a day! I can see why people rave about this place....." That sums it up!

Edited by Atravelynn
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That's a great look at the sociable weaver.

 

Also, that ostrich picture has some very colorful patches on the ground that really complement the whole composition!

Edited by Marks
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michael-ibk

 

Love the Pgymy Falcon, but especially the Honey Badger! More pics of the little guy? Please? :)

By little guy do you mean the Bird?

 

 

No, the badger! :)

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Great stuff. Kgalagadi is tied with Savuti as my main want-to-go place in Africa, this TR isn't helping! The cheetah hunt is exceptional...how did you snap such quick pics!?
Love the honey badger too!

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Love the Pgymy Falcon, but especially the Honey Badger! More pics of the little guy? Please? :)

 

By little guy do you mean the Bird?

No, the badger! :)

Ah! Not so little though....will have a lot, but the sighting was very brief

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Great stuff. Kgalagadi is tied with Savuti as my main want-to-go place in Africa, this TR isn't helping! The cheetah hunt is exceptional...how did you snap such quick pics!?

Love the honey badger too!

@@Big_Dog practice, luck, high ISO??

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And the husband?!

@@xelas yes, but half of them were my shots anyway and the same "rule" applies to him ;)

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for @@michael-ibk

 

an unintended motion blur (camera inadvertedly on the wrong settings as I picked it up)

 

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Hope you like....

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Day 3: Transfer from Twee RIvieren via Nossob valley to Kieliekrankie

 

After a simple check out, we set off on a slow drive to our next camp. We chose the slightly longer route as we were not supposed to check in until 2pm. This also gave us different scenery than the morning drive and a longer drive across the dune road. By the time we left, the temperature was already climbing. The car was fully loaded, so if we had a good sighting, only the person on the correct side of the car would have a chance, as there would be no clambering into the back seat, as it was full of food, water and charcoal.

 

As it happens, we had lots of sightings and we didn’t have to drive deliberately slowly, although we were too slow for some people who overtook us, whilst we were looking at birds or somesuch.

 

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Then we saw a kill! A secretary bird was stamping up and down, on a tortoise!

 

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At the turn off to the lower dune road, some oryx were at the waterhole

 

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Action shot courtesy of the OH as he was driving and hence on the correct side of the car....

 

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Once on the dune roads, there wasn't much about, apart from ostrich of varying ages

 

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Next we found a Gabar goshawk, fairly close to the road

 

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It gave us some bird in flight practice and then landed in another tree near the road, for more practice!

 

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Sorry for posting so many, but I think these are the best BIF shots I have ever done and some of the best photos from the trip, so I'm feeling proud :D

 

It then landed. Maybe a bird expert can tell me whether this is a hunting technique?

 

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For other planning a trip, or for our next time, I would put Kieliekrankie nearer to the end of the itinerary, as there are lots of steps to walk up with all of the supplies in the midday sun :(

 

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